“Trying harder” is not a recipe for success. What you need is a plan that can channel your effort and your resolutions, and that can be used to measure your progress, helping you to both understand what set the stage for defeat, and how you can set the stage for victory. This section translates all the concepts of the previous modules into one overarching plan for progress.

A comprehensive plan needs to start by taking in the big picture. There are two lives you can live: a life constricted by addiction, or a life fully engaged in pursuing your ideals. Think of these two lives as being on a spectrum, with the Addicted Life fully on the right, and the Engaged Life fully on the left. Where are you now along this spectrum?

In the video, I also mentioned how being committed to healthy behaviors and practices can help to ensure that you will be moving toward the left. These behaviors can be divided into four separate planes: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual (intellectual). We'll go through each of these now.

OK, let’s start with the Biological Scale. The most important element of priming is getting frequent physical exercise (consult your physician if you have health problems that might make this step difficult).

Are you ready to commit to exercise?

YesNo

You really need to say Yes to this! Please review the Priming module if you need more convincing.

And what frequency and kind of exercise would get you a 10 out of 10 on the rating scale?

For instance, you may (following my suggestion!) consider 25 minutes of intense cardiovascular exercise every other day as being the definition of a 10 out of 10.

How committed have you been during this past week to getting cardiovascular exercise?

A 10 on this scale is: {{answer_18807994}}

Would you like to set another goal for priming your body, besides exercise?

YesNo

You can monitor: sleep, taking medication, diet, or anything else that directly deals with preparing your body for change. What else would you like to monitor?

Write in one-word answer below

And what frequency and kind of behavior would get you a 10 out of 10 on the rating scale?

How committed have you been during this past week to {{answer_18808065}}?

A 10 on this scale is: {{answer_18808066}}

Now we can move to the Psychological Scale. The two fundamental skills are reframing and practicing mindfulness, which together make up the virtue of patience. This section also deals with improving how you work, facing your fears, and overcoming despair with hope. We’ll go through these individually.

Reframing consists in trying consciously and deliberately to see every trial as an opportunity for practice and growth. A 10 out of 10 would mean that you are able to do this basically every time you notice yourself slipping into complaining and dreading.

In the past week, how committed have you been to reframing?

Mindfulness practice is even easier to measure. You can practice mindfulness of the breath or mindful prayer on your own, or you can follow other guided meditations – perhaps using an app such as Headspace. I would suggest that, at a minimum, you do ten minutes of practice each day.

What form of mindfulness practice would you like to commit to practicing?

Write in one-word answer below

And what frequency and length of practice would get you a 10 out of 10 on the rating scale?

In the past week, how committed have you been to {{answer_18809294}}?

A 10 out of 10 is: {{answer_18809385}}

Reframing and mindfulness are also the first steps towards working at your highest level of focus. The final step is to set the right challenge level, so that you can engage your work with intensity. Following these three steps is how you can set the stage for having a “golden hour” of work, during which you really try to stretch your ability to focus. How many golden hours would you like to shoot for each workday?

at least one golden hour

at least two golden hours

at least three golden hours

at least four golden hours

at least five golden hours

six or more golden hours

OK, so a commitment of 10 out of 10 would mean getting {{answer_18809436}} each workday. In the past week, how committed have you been?

Would you like to set a goal for overcoming anxiety?

YesNo

And what frequency and kind of behavior would get you a 10 out of 10 on the rating scale?

In the past week, how committed have you been to {{answer_18809479}}?

Would you like to set a goal for growing in hope?

YesNo

Practices that strengthen hope and overcome despair include: labeling thoughts that give you permission to give in, mindfully attending to the feeling of despair, identifying times when "fixed" narratives get activated, and so on.

What behavior would you like to monitor, and how frequent would you like to practice it?

In the past week, how committed have you been to {{answer_18809565}}?

Now we come to the Social scale. I would suggest that a commitment of 10 out of 10 would entail making at least TWO special plans with friends and/or family.

What kind of social planning would you like to commit to, that would be a 10 out of 10 for you?

In the past week, how committed have you been to making social plans?

A 10 out of 10 is: {{answer_18809634}}

Now we finish with the Spiritual Scale. The purpose of this scale is for you to engage with the sources of your ideals, and to strengthen your commitment to overcoming your addiction.

What frequency and kind of behavior would you like to monitor for this scale?

In the past week, how committed have you been to your spiritual life?

A 10 out of 10 is: {{answer_18809706}}

Here's a summary of your measured commitments for the past week: ON THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL: Exercise: {{answer_18808030}}{{answer_18808065}}: {{answer_18808067}}